Be Yourself

If you had a time machine and could send just one message to your past self, what would it say?

I would tell myself to be who I am, not what I think others want me to be. Because when you try to be what others want you to be, they’re never satisfied. They won’t like you and you won’t like yourself.

So, cherish the people you’re with, but cherish who you are, too. As long as you’re not harming anyone, just be yourself.

Oh, yes. And stress is very over rated!

The Gift of Ice Cream

What’s a moment when a stranger completely restored your faith in people?

I’d taken my two teenage kids out for a meal. While we were waiting for our meal to be prepared we got talking with an older couple on the next table.

To be fair, my children are as frustrating as any others at home. But I’m proud of how polite they are outside. So, they got talking to this couple very politely, especially noting the ice cream sundaes that the couple were enjoying!

The couple paid and left while we were eating.

When we had finished, the children both commented that they were full and ready to leave. I went to the counter to pay and the waitress said, “Oh. The gentleman on the next table was so impressed with your children that he paid for ice cream sundaes for them.”

The children ate and enjoyed the ice cream.

And I learned that there are still good people out there.

You made a difference

If your future self could send you one sentence, what do you hope it would say?

I would hope that I could look back on my life and say, “You made a difference.”

Many people spend their lives trying to obtain some sort of wealth and so-called success. But what is wealth? What is success?

E told me that her sister, S, was visiting. S, who had no grandchildren, looked around at E’s photos of her grandchildren and said, “I may have money. But your wealth is in these photos.”

Real wealth and real success are in the difference we make in the lives of others.